manchester



(No Model.)

J. D. RICHARDSON &- F. L. MANCHESTER.

TRIPOD 0R STANDARD. No. 287,168; Patented 001;. 2a, 1883.

' allel with the column.

'llmrnn STATE JOHN D. RICHARDSON AND FRANCIS L. MANCHESTER, OF NEXV YORK, N. Y.

PATENT Grnrcn.

TRIPOD OR STANDARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 287,168, dated Octoben23, 1883.

I Application filed March 13, 1883. (N0 nwtlel.)

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN D. RICHARDSoN and FRANCIS L. MANCHESTER, both of the city of New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Im provement in Tripods or Standards, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to tripods or standards which may be used for dressforms and other purposes, and in which the legs or feet are so connected with the body or column that they may be reversed,so as to occupy positions approximately parallel with the body or column when desired to make them more conipact, and to enable them to be readily packed in a trunk or otherwise conveniently carried from place to place.

Our invention consists in novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter described, and set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an inverted plan of our improved tripod or standard. Fig. 2 is a vertical section thereof when spread for use, and Fig. 3 is a side view thereof when folded for carrying.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

A designates the column of the tripod or standard, and A designates the lower or base portion thereof. The said parts may be made in one and the same piece, or made sepa rately, and attached or connected by any suit able means-as, for example, a screw-thread as here shown. The lower portion or base piece, A, is made in the form of a frustum of a cone, or is conical or downwardly-flaring in shape, as best shown in Fig. 2.

B designates the legs, of which theremay be three, as here shown;or a greater number, if desired. These legs are each secured to the lower or base portion, A, by a single pivot, a, extending radially to the column A, and approximately at right angles to the face of the base portion, A. The pivots a may consist of rivets, and when thus pivoted the legs or feet B may be adjusted into the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2, so as to afford a stable support for the column; or they may be turned half round on their pivots and brought to the position shown in Fig. 8 or approximately parlVhen adjusted into the latter position, the length of the tripod or slightly beyond the base piece, A.

standard is reduced, as well as its bulk or size, diametrically, and the tripod or standard may then be readily packed in ajtrunk or otherwise conveniently carried from place to place. To hold the feet or legs in their operative position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, we employ a locking-plate or keeper, 0, which engages with the feet or legs B below their pivots a, and so holds them in place. As here shown, this plate or keeper fits loosely on a central pin or stud, I), screwed or otherwise secured in the standard A or its base piece, A, and below it is a spring, 0, which constantly presses it upward. The center portion of the locking-plate or keeper is offset in an upward direction, as shown, so that it will not project below the base piece, A; and it consists of or is provided with radial arms, as shown in Fig. 1, which fit or are received in notches (l in the base piece, A, and project The arms of the locking-plate or keeper are notched at e, and receive in such notches the feet or legs 7 5 B, as shown in Fig. 1. "When the feet or legs are thus held, they are prevented from turning on their pivots a, and support the tripod in a stable manner. \Vhen it is desired to pack or carry the tripod, the locking-plate or keeper 0 is pushed down, to disengage the feet or legs. one at a time, from the notches e, and the feet or legs are turned, so as to be parallel with the column, as shown in Fig. 3. The notches c then again engage with the ends of the feet or legs which were before uppermost, and so hold them from turning.

' In lieu of a single locking-plate or keeper, each foot or leg might have a separate keeper secured in place independently of the others.

Instead .of the plate or keeper 0 being provided with notches e, to receive the feet or legs, it might have projecting pins, prongs, or teeth, and the feet or legs would then be provided with notches above and below their 5 pivots, to receive the said pins, prongs, or

teeth. Such a construction would be the equivalent of that shown. Our construction is light, strong, and cheap, and the feet or legs, when thus pivoted and locked, may be very conveniently adjusted.

\Vhat we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with a column havinga conical or downwardly-flaring base or lower portion, of feet or legs secured by radial pivots to the exterior of the flaring sides of said base or lower portion, and'one or more keepers for engaging with the feet or legs below their pivots to hold them extended, and for engaging with them when turned upward by the side of the column to hold them folded, substantially as described. a

2. The combination,with the column A and its base portion, A,liaving a notch or notches, d, in its lower edge, of the feet or legs 13, the pivots a, and a lockingplate or keeper engaging with the said notch or notches, and adapted to engage with the said feet or legs,

tially as described. I r

"-J. D. RICHARDSON.

F. L. MANCHESTER.

Vitn esses FREDK. HAYNEs, CHANDLER HALL. 

